


New Family

by jomonet



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender, Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Brooklyn, Christmas, Comedy, Crossover, DIgital Marketing, Enemies to Lovers, Established Relationship, F/M, Happy Ending, Modern AU Zutara, New York City, New York City Christmas, Rey and Katara and Sokka are siblings, Romance, Romantic Comedy, Side GingerRose, Star Wars AU - Modern Reylo, Starbucks, White Christmas, Zuko and Katara are enemies at first, Zuko works at Starbucks, ben and poe are friends, introspective, reylo are engaged, uncle Iroh has a secret
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-14
Updated: 2021-01-13
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:35:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,372
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27012865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jomonet/pseuds/jomonet
Summary: Zuko is an introverted, miserable and perpetually angry 22-year-old guy who can’t let go of his past. He lives in a small apartment in Blooklyn, NY—found thanks to his uncle’s help—and his days are filled with work and university studies.Ben is an introverted, pleasant and happy man. On the verge of turning 30, Ben has all he could desire: a stable job and a fiancée he’s deeply in love with, Rey Johnson. Having put his past behind him, his life is finally going the right way. He lives in Brooklyn in a tranquil apartment picked out by his beloved uncle.What could possibly happen if their lives intertwined on a cold December morning? Could an unexpected visit change the course of their lives forever?
Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar), Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 16
Kudos: 15





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there! jomonet here!  
> A few months ago I wrote a fanfiction in my native language (link here for the Italian version: https://efpfanfic.net/viewstory.php?sid=3936180&i=1 ) and now the amazing @crimsonblue is helping me translate it in English. I'm finally able to share it with all of you and I couldn't be more excited!! 
> 
> I truly hope you guys will enjoy this story based on my headcanons! A special thank you goes to my friends who supported me and my ideas, you know who you are!🌹

It had been raining for days, it hadn’t stopped since Monday.

The streets of New York were full of cars and people came and went continuously. Surely, that weather wouldn’t have stopped New Yorkers. According to the weather forecast that was being aired on TV, in the next days the temperature was going to drop, nearly to the point of zero degrees Celsius. It was going to snow in the weekend.

Zuko rolled his eyes. He didn’t want to have to wake up with a white veil surrounding the building. It would make it even more difficult to walk down the streets of the city. Zuko Solo, a 22-year-old boy with lots of drama in his family, wasn’t exactly what you’d call an easygoing person. He was always angry with the world, with _himself_. He didn’t consider himself to be enough, especially in regards of his perfect family. Perfect… it had been a perfect family before his mother died. Ursa was her name. She was a kind and sweet woman. She was much appreciated in their old small town. One day she disappeared, just like that. She was run over by a car, and since then Zuko remained alone with his father and his sister: two horrible people. They were cold and detached with everyone, especially with him. The only member of the family who stayed close to him was his uncle Iroh, his father’s brother. His uncle was completely different from his father. Since the death of his son, Iroh and Zuko shared their losses together and he became like a father to Zuko, the loving father he never had. Ursa’s relatives didn’t come to her funeral and Zuko didn’t know any of them anyway. To be honest, he didn’t even care about it in that moment, he was mad with grief and couldn’t care less about anything or anyone. Zuko just greeted those that had attended his mother’s funeral and then he talked for a bit with two strange women that were apparently some distant aunts.

Now Zuko lived alone in a small apartment in Brooklyn and the only connection with his ugly and troubled past was a big scar on his left eye and his uncle Iroh’s phone number. Every morning his scar reminded him _of that day_. The day he decided once and for all to leave his home to go to his Uncle’s until he turned eighteen. Then he left to go to college and now he’s studying while working part-time at Starbucks in New York.  
“Snow. Great. Just what I needed,” said Zuko, getting up off the couch. He went to open the fridge to take a bottle of beer, but it was empty, save for a single bottle of water. “Shit. I’m out of beer.”

Zuko turned, and saw a row of empty bottles of beer next to the kitchen sink. He then looked around and noticed that his apartment was a mess. He had been too caught up in his studies to notice it earlier. Zuko groaned—cleaning up and sweeping the floor was the last thing he wanted to do right now. He told himself he’d do it during the weekend, setting up a perfect excuse not to go out since it was going to snow. He hated snow. He preferred the heat, the beach, the sun, the fire. Not the cold of the winter, the rain, the snow. Who could ever love such weather?

*

Ben Solo was working on his laptop in his study room, the sound of raindrops hitting his windows was loud in the silent place. He was busy with a project he was quite fond of, a project that was going to grant him a promotion at work. He needed those money to build a future with his fiancée. They didn’t live together yet, it would cost too much and they needed to save money, so they paid rent in two separate studio apartments.

Actually, the Solo family was quite wealthy, but Ben wanted to make it on his own. His family name was well known in Los Angeles—his father was a great actor—so Ben had decided to move to New York. He didn’t hate his family, not at all, but after being fussed over by his mother for twenty or so years he wanted nothing more than to be independent. And in the Big Apple he had finally built a life for himself. Helped by his uncle Iroh, his father’s brother—who himself lived near the City—he had found that studio apartment he now lived in. It had a kitchen, a bathroom, a single bedroom and a studio room… it wasn’t that bad. Immediately after he arrived in Brooklyn, Ben had rolled up his sleeves and searched for and found a job in a renowed digital marketing company. It hadn’t been easy at first, but he had managed. And it was in that place that he had met his life companion: Rey.

Rey was a few years younger than him, three years to be exact, but this didn’t mean she should be underestimated. Quite the opposite, actually. During the two long years in which Ben competed against her to secure himself that job he’d worked hard to have a chance at getting, he’s learned never to underestimate Rey. Rey was a hothead and she knew what she wanted, she surely wasn’t going to hand Ben the victory on a silver plate. And the same thing could be said about Ben: he couldn’t imagine anything else worth to him more than getting that job, a job that would symbolize his independence and also a sort of revenge for his past.

Those two years had been hard for either of them, one against the other. The hatred between them could be felt miles away, but that feeling slowly started to evolve into something different, a repressed attraction. And, just like that, they had fallen in love with each other, despite their flaws. One day they couldn’t hold themselves any longer and they gave in to their instincts, passionately kissing one another. And fortune favoured them once more when their boss ultimately decided to reward them both. He had noticed how hardworking they both were, thus they both got their long desired jobs.

Now Ben was 29 and Rey 26. They were more mature and they wanted to build a future together. Ben had proposed to Rey a few months ago and since then they started working harder than ever, hoping to save some money for their wedding ceremony. They still hadn’t decided a date for the big event, but the general idea was for it to take place in a few years at most.  
Ben Solo was a tall, maybe too tall, muscular man with a mop of soft jet black hair that caressed his cheeks and forehead. He was a bit introverted, but a very nice and pleasant person. He could be stubborn sometimes, but also sweet and thoughtful, and that’s what had made Rey fall in love with him. She, on the contrary, was tinier than him, but quite strong nonetheless—she went to the gym every day, with Ben. She had brown hair and a sprinkle of freckles over her nose. Her eyes were green, meanwhile Ben’s changed colour from brown to green, depending on the light. Rey was a young woman full of life, extremely kind and with a generally positive attitude to life, but she could also be stubborn and decisive, exactly like Ben. You could say that Ben and Rey were like day and night, different from each other, but similar at the same time.

That afternoon Ben was finally going to present his project ideas to his boss and he was going to find out about his promotion.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! I hope you enjoyed the first chapter!✨🥰
> 
> cw // violence  
> in this chapter there’s a short flashback where a main character thinks back to when he was a teenager and his father burned his face, leaving a scar.

Zuko was in a bad mood.

Holding a glass of water in his hand, he walked into his room and flopped down onto his bed. If he was honest with himself he wouldn’t mind staying there, motionless, for the remaining part of the day. Reluctantly, he reached out and grabbed his textbooks—the kitchen and the living room were quite small and so he had taken to studying on his bed. It wasn’t very comfortable and his back started aching after a few hours of sitting in that position, but Zuko managed, as always.

It was pouring down and it was so cold that Zuko had to put on a heavy sweater. “I hate the cold. I hate the cold. I HATE THE COLD,” shouted Zuko to no one in particular while gazing out the window.   
No one would hear him—he was alone in that apartment, he was _always_ alone. In the blink of an eye his mood changed: from angry to sad, showing the true nature of his nervousness. Lately he was always mad, and it wasn’t difficult to find out the reason for it: Christmas was coming and he was _alone_. He felt incredibly lonely _.  
But maybe… maybe he did have someone_, Zuko thought to himself, and a glint of hope made its way in his heart. Alas, that someone wasn’t there with him… but he could phone him.

Zuko quickly grabbed his phone and dialled that phone number he knew by heart.

*

“Ben!” said Rey over the phone. “Is everything all right? What about the promotion? Finn and Connix refused to tell me anything about it when I called them, I really should have asked for better colleagues! So now you have to tell me—”

She was speaking very fast and Ben tried to interrupt her, a task not so easy to accomplish. “Rey! Easy now.” Ben took a deep breath and waited for Rey to stop talking. “Rey, I—”

“You didn’t get the promotion, did you? It’s okay, we’ll find another way to get the money we need. Or we could reconsider the budget for the wedding. Money isn’t important, love is all that matters, and we have plenty of love and I’m proud of you just the same! Ben?” Rey paused, not hearing a single noise coming from the other side of the phone.

Her boyfriend took another breath and said, “Rey, stop!” He chuckled, not able to stop himself. “I actually got it, the promotion!” Ben heard a loud noise, like a plate or a cup falling and shattering to the floor and winced, drawing the phone away from his ear. “Rey? Rey, darling, is everything okay?”

After a moment of silence, a moment that lasted an eternity, Rey answered, her voice dripping with joy. “Ben Solo! Oh my, you did it! I knew it! Your project was brilliant! To be honest, Hux’s was awful. I knew it! I’m so proud of you, Ben! You’re amazing!”

“Thanks, sweetheart. But are you alright? Did you fall? I heard something—”

“Yes, I’m good!” Rey interrupted him. “I was drinking a cup of tea and well, I lost my grip on it…”

“She was so happy she jumped. You should’ve seen her, Ben!” another female voice came from Rey’s phone. Ben recognized it straight away: it was Katara, Rey’s younger sister.

Rey had decided to spend two weeks at her parents’ home and Ben thought she couldn’t have chosen a better time for a vacation—the weather was lovely. Both him and Rey loved the warm. Rey’s family, however, preferred cold, rainy and snowy weather. Her family was a big one, bigger than Ben’s, and it was made of five members: Mr. and Mrs. Johnson—amiable folks—and their three children, Rey, Sokka and Katara. Sokka was 22 and Katara was 20, the youngest of the family. They both attended college, and Sokka sometimes took part-time jobs to save up some money. He also had a girlfriend, but no one from the family had ever seen her, not in the flesh nor in pictures.  
Three years ago a tragedy occurred: Rey’s mother died in a car crash. From that moment on, everything changed for the Johnson’s. Ben did all he could to stay close to them, to help them move on with their lives. He was Rey’s safe haven, and Sokka and Katara clung on to him as well—especially the latter, who regarded him as a brother.

Ben’s family, on the other hand, was small: he was an only child. His parents lived in Los Angeles, and from time to time they came to visit him in the Big Apple, using the opportunity to drop by dear old uncle Iroh’s.   
Ben’s mother, Leia, was a well known and loved university professor, both by her colleagues and students. She had a twin brother, but Ben didn’t really care about Luke—he hadn’t seen him in ages.  
His father, Han Solo, was a notorious actor in Hollywood, and he had two brothers: Iroh and Ozai. Ben didn’t know anything about the latter, he’d never met him and had only heard of him by the tales his father and uncle Iroh had told him sometime in the past. He only knew that he was a horrible and unpleasant person and he didn’t even know if he was married and had a family of his own.  
There was another person he considered as a member of his family: “uncle” Lando. Lando was… his own person. Ben could only find one word to describe him: _eccentric._ He was Han’s best friend and Ben had always loved spending time with him, since he was a little baby; they loved each other like family.

“Katara! It’s been a while!” said Ben, smiling. “Please keep an eye on your clumsy sister!”

The girl laughed and Ben heard some weird noises—she was surely picking up the pieces of shattered ceramic. “Ben, you should come here and get her, she’s only good at making a mess! Plus, we could finally see each other again.”

“I’d love to come over for a weekend, Kat,” Ben said, his voice soft and almost apologetic when he pronounced the familiar nickname only a few selected people were allowed to use. “I really do, but I can’t.”

“Hey, you two! Stop ignoring me!” Rey’s voice boomed, and then she added, “Don’t worry, _Katara_ , you’ll get rid of me next Monday.”

“Don’t be offended, sweetheart.” Ben chuckled. “You know that your sister adores me.” 

“Whatever. I’m done with the both of you.”

Ben’s face fell. “Rey?”

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding!” Rey let out a heartfelt laugh and Ben immediately relaxed at the sound of it.

“So you’re coming back on Monday?”

“Yes, love. How’s the weather there in New York?”

“Bad. It’s going to snow in the weekend.” Ben lowered his voice and added, “I hope the traffic won’t be too heavy, I can’t wait to hold you in my arms again.”

“Oh—”

Rey was interrupted by a loud cry of happiness. It was, of course, Katara, who had kept listening to what his conversation with Rey. After years of knowing her, Ben should have remembered how much Rey’s sister got excited at the mere mention of snow. “Rey, my _dear_ sister, can you take me with you when you go to New York? Please? Pretty please?” she pleaded, enthusiasm dripping from her voice. _Yes_ , Ben thought to himself with some amusement, _she truly loves the snow_.

*

“Please uncle… I can’t do this anymore. I’m so lonely, you know I don’t have anyone here in New York: my colleagues don’t want to spend time with me and my childhood friends… well, you know what happened with them,” said Zuko over the phone.

“I know, but I’m quite busy—” Iroh sounded apologetic.

“Please uncle…” Zuko was pleading, not caring about sounding desperate. And he did sound quite desperate to his uncle, who could do nothing but say, “Alright, my nephew. Tomorrow I’ll take the first available train in the morning and I’ll be there. Is there room for an old uncle like me?”

“Always.”

They ended the phone call and Zuko felt lighter, as sometimes happened after a phone call with his uncle Iroh. He hadn’t felt like that in months, and it was all thanks to his upcoming visit. Zuko felt a deep calmness set inside him, as if his very soul was finally at peace, and a little smile formed on his always sad and sulky face.  
Zuko turned to the window and noticed that it had finally stopped raining. He lay down on the bed and stared at the ceiling, letting his mind drift to the past. Absentmindedly, he touched his scar—the scar that run from his left eye to his ear. He thought about _that_ day. The day he left his old home. _Home._ That place wasn’t home for him anymore, not from that damned day when his father hit him with the chimney shovel—the hot iron chimney shovel.  
Scared and shocked Zuko had run away. _His father had hit him in the face…_ _and for what?_ Because he, his son, reminded him of his dead wife, and also because he is not enough. He’s not worthy of that cold and arid family: he’s too emotional, too different, and because of that, he is trash. Zuko had no choice but to run off to the only place that had ever _felt_ like home: his uncle Iroh’s house.   
His uncle had immediately taken him to the hospital, where the doctors told him that his eye would continue working just fine, even if a large scar would remain for the rest of his life.

Still thinking about that horrible day, Zuko turned away from the soft light coming from the window, not allowing it to illuminate that _thing_ on his face. A single tear escaped from his left eye and Zuko tried and failed to hold it back; instead he curled into himself and wept. With a sudden movement he sit up and grabbed his pillow, only to hurl it across the room. It hit his small closet with a _thud,_ and Zuko screamed. He kept on screaming, his voice hoarse with the effort. “I hate you. _I HATE YOU._ ”

His legs gave out and he found himself on the floor, not bothering to get up. He didn’t have enough strength to do so, and he didn’t care. Zuko kept his eyes fixated on the ceiling and hated his traitorous mind. Could he ever have a moment of peace without his thoughts returning to his awful past? Why did he hate himself so much?

In a moment of clarity, Zuko forced himself to think about what his uncle used to tell him when they lived together— _“It’s over, Zuko. A new life awaits you, everything will be different.”_ —and he whispered the words to himself, like a mantra.  
Things _had_ changed, but he was still lonely and full of anger. He wanted to be able to let go of his past, of his negative feelings. He had once read of love being “the solution to any problem, the light that brought joy in one’s life” and the darkness would fade away to nothing. But he was alone, he only had his uncle in his life. Everyone hated him— _worse_ , they seemed to completely ignore his existence. Whenever he went out the children looked at him as if he were a monster and their mothers diverted their eyes, holding their kids closer to them. And that was the reason why Zuko spent the most of his time at his small apartment in Brooklyn. He worked in a Starbucks and was grateful for it. It hadn’t been easy for him to find a job, but at last the employer had decided to hire him despite his awfully scarred face—“people nowadays spend their time looking down at their phone screens, they’ll probably won’t even cast a glance over your face”. Thankfully Zuko wore his hair quite long, and his fringe covered a big portion of his scar. He could work with that. He could almost feel like he was living a normal life, _almost._ Because even when he managed to hide his scar, people still looked away from him. He wasn’t hideous, far from that; Zuko was tall and muscular—physical exercise helped him clear his mind from his constant negative thoughts—and had luminous almond-shaped amber eyes that contrasted with his straight soft-black hair. But he was pale— _really pale._ His skin tone was light, almost white as paper, and made him look sickly. And that was enough to send people away from him, leaving him alone with the company of his mind and sometimes of his uncle, when he wasn’t busy and they could talk over the phone.

All Zuko desired was someone—a friend. He didn’t dare hoping to find a girlfriend. He had long ago accepted that no one could ever love him _that_ way, but he could still hope for a friend, for someone who he could love and be loved in return and to spend his time with. It wasn’t like he was asking too much, was it? Apparently, it was.

Zuko took a deep breath and opened his eyes, and finally rose from the bedroom floor. “I need a beer. Immediately.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next update will be on the 29th of October.
> 
> I am also on Twitter and Tumblr if you wanna come say hello!
> 
> Twitter: @/ whatpistachio  
> Tumblr: whatpistachio


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there!✨  
> We are back in Brooklyn! Here is the third chapter! I hope you guys will enjoy it!🌹

It was a cold Saturday morning and Zuko was walking to work. It snowed last night and everything was white. A thin layer of snow covered the sidewalk and Zuko glanced at the children gleefully playing. His eyes focused back down on his own feet, he didn’t want to risk slipping and falling on his behind—he was cold enough.

“Couldn’t uncle Iroh live somewhere else?” he said to himself, gritting his teeth. “Why did I ever decide to live in this place? I should’ve gone to live to Miami… you know what? Maybe I will.”

Despite the snow, the roads were trafficked and taxis came and went—New Yorkers surely wouldn’t stop going about just because of a few snowflakes. Thankfully, Zuko was walking so he managed to avoid the traffic and to get to the closest Starbucks on time.

“Hello Solo!”

“Hello boss!”

“Paler than usual, uh?”

“Yeah… I hate the cold. And snow.” Zuko stated the obvious, he was sure his face could be read like an open book.

“Well, don’t let it make _you_ cold, you must be warm with the customers.” His boss returned serious. “And don’t forget to wear your cap and to fix your fringe.”

“Yes, sir.” Zuko’s face darkened. He didn’t need to be constantly reminded about his scar. He took a deep breath and got to work, wishing that the end of his shift—6pm—would arrive early.

*

“Solo!” exclaimed Poe from the other end of the phone.

“Dameron!” said Ben.

“Did you see all that beautiful snow?”

Poe sounded amused and Ben mentally rolled his eyes. “Sure. Everything is white… great. Lord help me.”

“I think that you and Rey are the only two people in New York who actually hate snow. I don’t understand _how,_ snow is pretty and fun!”

“Yeah, sure, Poe.”

“Okay, okay… anyway, when can we meet to discuss about what to do with Miss Holdo? You know, our new client?” Poe’s voice was all business-like now, all trace of his usual cheeky tone was gone. “Do you have an internet connection at home? Mine’s not working here because of the snow.”

“Aren’t you the one who said that snow was pretty and fun? I must have misheard you a few seconds ago. And no, I don’t. I need to save money so I have to rely on my phone data only. It’s a nightmare.”

“Oh, okay. We could meet in one of those new Internet Cafés they opened,” offered Poe.

“Perfect. Where?”

“Surely not in my neighbourhood. The line’s not working in the entire area,” Poe sounded worried.

“We could try here,” said Ben. “I think we could find something.”

“Alright, well I’d prefer somewhere with free wi-fi but—” Ben heard a male voice coming from the other side of the phone that interrupted Poe’s. It was Finn. “You guys surely know that Starbucks’ exist for a reason, right?”

“Oh. Sure, thanks bro.” Poe then said to Ben, “There’s a Starbucks next to where you live, right Solo? Let’s meet there.”

“Yes,” said Ben, trying to remember where exactly it was.

Poe, colleague and friend, must’ve heard the uncertainty in Ben’s voice because he joked, “I hope you at least do know where it is, wouldn’t want you to get lost.”

“Aren’t you funny, Dameron?” retorted Ben, but he was laughing.

*

People came and went from the coffee shop. They all looked alike, but different at the same time. Zuko only wanted to drink a tea with his uncle, but his shift wasn’t over yet. Iroh had arrived yesterday in the evening and the morning after he had told Zuko that he would walk around the city, waiting for when his nephew would be free to keep him company. But maybe he would drop by Zuko’s workplace.

“But don’t you hate the cold, uncle?” Zuko had asked him.

“Oh Zuko, you know me. I prefer the warm, but we must appreciate whatever nature has to offer. Everything is a gift and all we can do is to be grateful for it,” had replied his uncle.

Zuko smiled thinking about that early morning exchange he had with his uncle in his small kitchen, but then he shook his head, focusing on the task at hand. He was serving a girl with multi-coloured hair and tattoo-covered arms. She had asked for an iced tea and he briefly wondered how could she even drink that with that cold temperature. The girl thanked him and paid in cash, then Zuko watched as she went to sit on a small table near the entrance and opened her laptop. He didn’t spare her a second glance for the rest of his shift.

*

“Solo! Where are you?” asked Poe.

“I’m almost there!” Ben exclaimed on his phone. “I’ve been stuck in the traffic, you know, thanks to the _snow_.” He put quite an emphasis on the last word and Poe laughed.

“That’s unfortunate, bro. You should’ve taken the subway like I did.”

“Don’t call me ‘bro’,” said Ben automatically. “You know I don’t like it.”

“Yeah, bro. I’m right outside Starbucks. I’m getting inside, it’s freezing out here.”

“Yes, it’s fine, I hope I won’t be too late. You could order something to eat in the meantime, I don’t mind.”

“I’ll wait for you, bro.”

Ben didn’t even get to respond, Poe had already ended the call. He launched his iPhone on the passenger seat grumbling under his breath. He hated being stuck in the traffic, but he should have expected it after all the snow that fell during the night. Ben had left his apartment right on time, after a conversation over the phone with Rey, but he was late nonetheless.  
He missed Rey and he had called her for a quick update on the weather. She had told him that because of the snow her flight had been cancelled, so she would arrive the next Tuesday. Rey had also told him that Katara was to come with her, and Ben easily pictured Rey’s sister pleading and praying Rey to bring her along. It was a wonder how they were related to calm, chill Sokka. Rey and Katara were the complete opposite: one was a warm Sun and the other was a stormy sea; both had a kind heart. Their brothers was more like a tranquil river, indifferent to what happened around him. And, unlike Katara, he wouldn’t ask his older sister to take him to New York, he was busy working during the week.

Ben was getting impatient, he was getting _mad._ He hated traffic and he hated those soft little snowflakes that kept falling from the sky. He was _this_ close to getting out of his car and hit it with all his strength, but he knew it’d be pointless, so he just tightened his grip on the steering wheel—so tight he was almost concerned he’d break it. _Almost_.

*

“Solo,” said Zuko’s boss is a serious tone. “I have a commission for you.”

“Yes, sir,” Zuko said while serving a middle aged man with neatly trimmed salt and pepper hair.

“Go grab some glasses in the warehouse, we’re almost out of them.”

“Yes,” said Zuko, wiping his hands on his apron and immediately doing as he was told.

*

Ben had finally arrived. In a rare moment of luck, he had found a nice parking spot near the entrance of the coffee shop. As he walked to the Starbucks in front of him soft snowflakes fell around and on him, on his long black hair and on his black coat. Ben opened his hand and waited for a flake to fall gently in his hand, the he closed his hand into a fist and squeezed. He crossed the road and run up to the shop, careful not to slip on the thin layer of frost that covered the sidewalk.

It was freezing.

*

“It’s freezing!” complained Zuko to himself while he walked down the narrow street toward the small warehouse.He kept his head bent low and one of his arms crossed in front of his torso, hoping that it would provide some body heat… so far it wasn’t working. The other hand was holding a bag full of glasses.

“At least I’m wearing my cap,” he said and sighed.

*

The place was warm. Ben let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding and a small cloud of white left his mouth. “Now, where is Poe?” he asked to himself, glancing around. His gaze went to a girl by the door who had brightly coloured hair and was working on a laptop, it was impossible not to notice her. Then he thought he couldn’t just stand there and started to walk to the stairs—Poe had probably taken a seat in the upper floor—but a man had suddenly risen from his chair and they collided.

“Sorry,” immediately said the middle aged man, “I didn’t see you there.”

Ben was annoyed—it seemed like the universe was conspiring to have him arrive as late to the appointment as humanly possible—but he forced himself to remain calm. “it’s okay, don’t worry.”

*

“Ah, my sweet dear warm. I missed you, my beloved heat,” said Zuko, crossing the threshold of the Starbucks.

“Zuko!” someone called his name. His boss. Zuko rolled his eyes and muttered, “What the hell does he want? I’m not going out again. I hate the cold. Fuck him.” He followed the direction of his voice and found his boss behind the coffee machine. “Boss, I took the glasses and—”

“Yeah, yeah.” The other man interrupted him. “Some ladies kindly complained of the lack of Christmas decorations, we put up less than we should have. Well, it’s December now, we need to hang up _more._ ” Zuko cursed under his breath. _He knew it, he knew his boss would find a way to make him go out again. He hated him._ “So, now you go back to the warehouse and—”

“Sir?” a boy interjected, he was a colleague of Zuko’s. “A few days ago I noticed them in the warehouse and took the liberty to bring them in myself.”

“Ah.” Mild surprise crossed the older man features. “Good guy,” he added and patted his hand on said guy’s shoulder. Then, he looked at Zuko and coldly said, “You, go back to work. Now.”

*

“Dameron! Here you are!” exclaimed Ben, relieved to have found his friend at last. “You couldn’t have chosen another table, uh?”

“Sorry, Solo. This was the only free spot, apparently we aren’t the only people who had this idea.”

“Yeah,” said Ben. All around them people kept their eyes fixed on their electronic devices. “Look at that, a nightmare.”

“Ben… Our job is literally _that._ ”

“I know.” Ben was sceptical, his tone cold as snow. “But you’d think that people would go to a coffee shop to have a drink or to eat something.”

Dameron noticed the shift in Ben’s mood and reached out to him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Ben shrugged and said, “Let’s start this project, shall we?”

“But I didn’t order anything! I was waiting for you,” lamented Poe.

Ben rolled his eyes. “Alright, tell me what you want to order and I’ll go downstairs.”

*

It was only 11am and Zuko felt like he’d been working the whole day. He desired nothing more than to get out of this damned place, he was done with the customers, those boring, yet annoying customers. He kept repeating in his mind the words of his uncle and gritted his teeth, accepting that this was a terrible day and there was absolutely nothing that could make it any better.

*

“So, a muffin and one Espresso for you and a latte with one chocolate muffin for me,” recapped Ben.

Poe nodded absentmindedly as he typed a message to his mother, not even bothering to look up from his phone. Ben shook his head, but he was smiling—he loved Poe. They were colleagues, but most of all they were friends and Ben knew he could always count on him.

“I’ll be right back.”

Poe finally looked up at Ben. “Alright, I’ll give you the money when you come back with the goods.”

“I don’t want your money, Dameron,” said Ben and walked to the stairs.

*

Zuko had just picked up a plastic cup when he heard a familiar voice. “Boy.” Surprised, he turned his head towards the direction of the voice, but lost his grip on the cup. He immediately crouched down to retrieve it from the floor, and when he rose he blinked a few times, not quite believing his eyes. “Uncle!” Zuko exclaimed, smiling wide. “You came!” Then he lowered his voice and added, “It’s only eleven thirty and I already want to die.”

Iroh chuckled, but said, “Don’t talk that way. Focus on the positive things, Zuko.”

“I don’t see any.” Zuko shot back, while he prepared a cappuccino.

“No? You’re going to get your pay in a few days, think about that. Also, this job makes you meet so many lovely people. Good morning, ma’am,” Iroh said, smiling a politely to a woman his age that was waiting in line. She nodded and smiled back. He added, “Did you see, nephew?”

“Yeah, sure. Too bad that’s not what usually happens to me,” Zuko said, unconvinced.

“It’s going to go well,” Iroh said, still smiling. Suddenly, his face fell and he lowered his voice. “Zuko, where is the restroom? You know, I’m an old man and my body has some needs… I promise you that I’ll buy something when I come back!”

Zuko rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. “It’s right behind the stairs, you can’t miss it.”

“Thank you, Zuko,” said Iroh and quickly disappeared.

Zuko went back to serve the customers, but this time he was doing so with a grin on his face.

*

Ben was hurrying down the stairs when he thought he heard his uncle Iroh’s voice. He glanced around and saw an old lady paying one of the two waiters behind the counter, and scanned the people already seated: there was no trace of his uncle. Ben frowned. He’d have loved to meet uncle Iroh even for just a couple of minutes, they hadn’t seen each other in a long time. _Maybe it’s just my mind playing tricks on me.  
_Ben walked up to the counter and said, “Excuse me, can I order?”

“Sure,” said the waiter wearing a cap with the Starbucks logo on it. “What can I get you?”

Ben didn’t answer. He was gazing intently at the guy in front of him, who had a mop of black hair that covered half of his face, precisely its left side. Was he trying to cover something? Maybe a scar? And why did Ben even care? _Maybe because you also have a scar on your face,_ he thought. Ben’s scar was on the right side, but it was barely visible now. Or maybe he cared that much because the guy in front of him reminded him of his twenty-year-old self, with a constant sulky look on his face that didn’t, however, prevent him from being polite with the others. Ben couldn’t find an explanation. “Have we already met?” he asked suddenly.

A surprised look formed on the waiter’s face who answered, “I don’t think so, sir. I think I haven’t ever seen you, but it could be, with all the people I see every day here at work. I’m sorry.”

“No, _I_ am sorry. This was an inappropriate question.” Ben hastened to say, as the guy in front of him offered a polite smile. “Um, I’ll take an Espresso, a latte, a simple muffin and a chocolate muffin.”

“All right.”

While waiting for his order, Ben kept watching at the black-haired guy in front of him. _Why does it feel like I’ve already met you?_ He kept thinking. The guy had almond-shaped eyes like he had, but his were yellow-ish, almost golden. His lips were thin, where Ben’s were full and plump—Rey loved to call them “her little rosebuds” when they were alone in bed.

“Your order, sir. It’s $9.15,” said the waiter, giving Ben his long awaited food. He snapped out of his thoughts and opened his wallet.

“Thank you,” he smiled at the guy while paying. “And keep the change.”

A look of surprise crossed the guy’s features once again. “Thank you.”

Ben walked towards the stairs, content that he and Poe were finally going to eat and get work done, but he couldn’t stop thinking about the black haired guy.

*

“Oh, my dear nephew,” said Iroh coming out of the restroom. “I managed not to fall inside the toilet, not bad for an old man like me, uh?”

“Yeah uncle, but please don’t tell me these things. It’s disgusting,” said Zuko, not even trying to hide the sentiment on his face. His uncle took a long look at him and laughed heartedly, unable to stop himself.

*

Ben had just arrived on the upper floor when he heard it again. His uncle’s voice. Ben was going to dismiss it again as a trick his mind was playing on him until he heard the unique laugh that belonged to his uncle Iroh. He stopped in his tracks and turned toward the stairs and then he looked down, but there wasn’t any trace of his uncle. Ben run to where Poe was seated and quickly said, “Dameron, I need to go back downstairs. There’s my uncle. Maybe. I’m not sure… but you start eating, don’t wait for me.”

“Lando?” asked Poe.

“No,” said Ben, grinning. “Uncle Iroh!”

“Your latte will get cold—”

But Ben was already running toward the stairs, excited as a kid at Disneyland.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See you next time!
> 
> Thank you.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! It's jomonet here!🌹  
> First of all I wish you a happy new year!✨  
> It's been a while, but here I am again with a new chapter. I hope you are gonna enjoy it!

Ben arrived downstairs and, of course, looked around. The place was crowded, and he quickly scanned the room, trying to squeeze himself between the line of people that had formed. “What the fuck,” he muttered, feeling a bit nervous. “There wasn’t anyone here just two minutes ago.”

Ben was looking at the people filling the place when he finally saw _him_. His uncle was seated on a table next to the one occupied by the girl he had noticed earlier—the one with brightly coloured hair. A great feeling of joy filled Ben’s heart, all trace of nervousness gone as he run toward his uncle. His happiness might have seemed a bit _too much_ —Iroh was just an uncle, after all—but for Ben it wasn’t like that. Uncle Iroh—kind and sage uncle Iroh—had helped him find somewhere to live in the Big Apple when Ben was still a twenty-year-old inexperienced boy, alone in a big world. He had been grateful for him at the time and he would always be, he truly loved his dear old uncle.

“Uncle!” exclaimed Ben.

Iroh froze mid-bite, his eyes widening. _It can’t be._ He looked up and met those sweet brown eyes, so similar and yet different from Zuko’s. “Ben!” he said.

“Uncle! I was sure I heard your voice, even if at first I thought it was my mind playing tricks on me!”

Iroh couldn’t help but stare at him. He looked different, _changed_ , in a positive way. “You’re looking good, Ben. Please sit and tell me all about it.” They were _so similar_ : the hair, eyes, scars,…  
Iroh found himself not caring if Zuko saw them together, maybe _the day_ he’d always dreamed and hoped for had finally arrived— _the day his nephews would finally meet each other_.

“Oh, I have so many news! First of all, I must tell you about Rey.” Said Ben, sitting opposite from his uncle, his eyes never leaving his face, as if he was afraid that his uncle was going to disappear if he dared to look away for even one moment. He was grateful to have someone familiar to talk to, someone who would listen to him while Rey was away and his mood wasn’t exactly the best.  
He had _so_ missed his uncle Iroh.

*

 _Great._ Zuko thought when a group of students entered the shop and formed a long line right after that thirtysomething customer took his order and went away. He seemed a bit off and _odd._ But who wasn’t? The high schoolers were loud: they laughed and talked—yelled—to each other and some of them were taking pictures of the cafeteria. _I hate all of you.  
_ Zuko, however, didn’t let any of his true emotions show on his face, but kept nodding and smiling politely at whatever orders the students were taking.

At last, the line ended and as Zuko was serving the last couple of girls, he conceded a quick glance to where his uncle had gone. He stopped for a second, not quite believing his eyes. His uncle was talking to a guy, actually, it was _the_ client from a few minutes ago. Zuko forced himself to tear his gaze away and handed the coffees to the girls who were waiting expectantly, his mind racing. He was pretty sure he’d never seen that man—actually he looked quite young so maybe not exactly a man. He glanced again to where his uncle was and found him smiling warmly at him. “Who is that?” he mouthed.

Iroh didn’t bother answering, too focused on whatever the guy in front of him was talking about.

“Who are you?” Zuko whispered to himself, staring intently at him as if he could obtain his name by simply willing it. His mind was full of thoughts chasing one another, but he couldn’t come up with anything, he had never seen that guy.

“Whatever, _you_ go then. He’s not listening.”

Zuko snapped out of it and found that his boss had given some task to his colleague because he was too distracted to hear him. He quickly tried to fix things. “What? I will go.”

His colleague said, “You have to clean the table near the entrance, the one where was seated the girl with weird hair.”

“Yes. Sure, I’m going. I’m sorry, I was… distracted.”

 _Perfect._ The table was right next to where his uncle was seated. He had an excuse to get close to them and maybe to hear what they were talking about. The black-haired guy was talking animatedly, as if he was _close_ with uncle Iroh, and on his part Iroh was listen attentively to everything he was saying. Zuko felt a pang of jealousy, it surely didn’t look like they had just met for the first time. _Who was that guy?_


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!✨  
> Here we are with the fifth chapter. Now what's going to happen in Brooklyn's Starbucks? 👀  
> Let's find it!  
> Enjoy the reading! 🌹

Zuko was cleaning the table near the entrance, but he couldn’t refrain himself from stealing glances to the nearby table. Sometimes he caught his uncle’s gaze, who kept nodding to whatever the guy seated in front of him was saying.

_What is he even talking about? His entire life? Why hasn’t Iroh introduced us yet? Is he ashamed of me, of what I do for living?_ Zuko’s mind was a whirlwind of questions and he couldn’t find an answer to any of them.

“Hey.”

Zuko glanced up, immediately recognizing his uncle’s voice. “Yes?”

Iroh’s face was relaxed and he was smiling as if he didn’t have a single worry in his life. Zuko, however, knew him well and just _knew_ that his uncle was hiding something. He straightened his back and watched as Iroh turned to the mysterious guy, who, on his part, was sitting patiently with his hands crossed on the table.

“That is my nephew. Zuko. He’s your uncle Ozai’s son. Your father and his are both brothers of mine… so that makes you two cousins,” Iroh said, switching his gaze to Zuko, “you are first cousins.”

Zuko was stunned, and he was fairly sure that his expression matched the one on the guy—no, on his supposed cousin—sitting not far from where he stood. They were both gaping at Iroh and, after swallowing, they both exclaimed, almost at the same time, “ _What?_ ”

Iroh burst out laughing, his eyes darting from one guys to the other. “You should see yourselves! You look exactly the same, how can you not have noticed?”

The two guys immediately looked at each other and Ben was the first to speak. “I must admit that earlier I noticed something, but…” He stopped, thinking that the other guy was going to interject, but Zuko felt like his tongue was glued to the roof of his mouth.

“Foolish me!” said Iroh, and looked at Zuko, who was still as death. “I didn’t tell you his name, he is Ben. He’s your uncle Han’s son, of course. Oh come on, you’re supposed to shake hands! Didn’t anyone ever teach you manners?”

Zuko didn’t move. He was speechless. _What is happening? I have a cousin?_ Zuko knew that there was a third brother, he’d seen a picture of Han once at Iroh’s, but he didn’t know anything about him.

Ben didn’t know what to say. His eyes darted between his uncle and the boy while his mind was whirring, trying to find something, any memory of a cousin. He knew about Ozai’s existence—he’d once seen an old picture of him in uncle Iroh’s attic—but he never really cared much about him. He had enough problems of his own.

At last, when Zuko was going to say something, they were interrupted.

“Solo!”

The three men turned their heads at the same time to see both Poe Dameron and Zuko’s boss calling in their direction, exactly at the same time. They looked at each other with a curious look on their faces, but it was the boss who opened his mouth again.

“Solo, are you done? Come here. Now.”

Zuko didn’t so much as nod and, after a quick last glance to his uncle and _cousin_ , walked toward the counter.

*

Dameron stared at the black-haired waiter. He knew that it was rude to stare, but the guy looked exactly like his friend. _Does Ben have a brother? Nah, he’d have told me._ Poe went to where Ben was seated and introduced himself to the old man sitting opposite Ben. He had a big and kind face, framed by straight white hair. Then, he turned to a very pale looking Ben and hurriedly whispered, “Ben what is going on? You didn’t come back and I started the project without you, but it’s almost noon and we have to finish it.” He paused. “Are you okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“Oh, yes. My nephew is fine,” said the old man when it was clear that Ben wasn’t going to speak. “He just needs time after learning some news regarding his family.” His tone was calm, but Ben’s brows furrowed slightly.

“ _Some news?_ Just some small little news, uh? Nothing that important. Sure,” said Ben, who was clearly trying not to raise his voice. Sarcasm dripped from his every word and when he turned to Poe his eyes were flashing. “Wanna know something, Dameron? I’ve lived all my life with the belief that my cousin, my _only_ cousin was dead. And now… now I find another one, a new cousin, in a cafeteria in Brooklyn! Yes, yes I’m fine. Of course.”

Poe couldn’t stop himself from laughing. “That’s great! You found a cousin, aren’t you happy?”

Ben was once again at loss of words. A lot of feeling were swirling inside him right at this moment: anger, fear, sadness, but also joy. _Aren’t you happy?_ He suddenly felt that bit of joy growing in his heart, making it beat faster. In a quick movement he got up and sprinted to the counter. The waiter, _his cousin,_ was cursing under his breath while jabbing at the coffee machine.

*

“Fuck this stupid machine,” Zuko mutteredfor the millionth time. Why did his boss hate him so much? Surely there had to be someone else he could have called to fix the coffee maker. It wasn’t like he _couldn’t_ do it—he’d fixed the machine more times than he could remember—but now he was so nervous that his fingers just didn’t respond to his brain. He had a cousin, a very much _alive_ cousin. Why hadn’t his uncle ever said anything about it? “One day I’ll set this damned thing on fire.”

“Zuko? That’s your name, right?” Zuko froze and turned around to find his new cousin watching him, he hoped he didn’t hear him talking to an inanimate object. “I’m sorry for earlier. But as you can easily imagine I was quite shaken by the news. Oh and I’m Ben.”

Ben smiled and offered him his hand. Zuko quickly wiped his on his apron and shook hands with him. “I’m Zuko,” he offered. “You’re Ben, right? It’s nice to meet you.”

Ben’s smile widened and Zuko found his lips curving up as well. “Yes, yes I’m Ben. You too. And yeah, I honestly didn’t know… I didn’t think I’d find a cousin here today…” He swallowed and added, “How… how about we see each other tomorrow? I guess you live around here, right?”

“Yes,” immediately said Zuko. “Yes I’d love it. And yes, I live here in Brooklyn in a very small and very ugly apartment.”

“Ah,” surprise flickered in Ben’s eyes. “That’s something we have in common. I live in Brooklyn as well. Uncle Iroh helped me find a studio apartment some years ago.”

“Are you on your own?” Asked Zuko, wanting to see if they also had that in common.

“What? No, no. I mean… yes, I live on my own, but I do have a girlfriend, if that’s what you meant.”

“Sorry. That’s not my business,” said Zuko, touching his hair. “I thought that we could have more than one thing in common.”

Ben looked at Zuko’s scarred eye, pointed at it and said, “Well, we actually do have more than one thing in common.”

Zuko didn’t understand at first, but then he looked closely at Ben’s face and saw what he meant. “You have a scar? I can’t even see it, it’s not as noticeable as mine.”

“Believe me,” said Ben. “It’s probably the lights. Yes, it’s not as evident as it was before, but it’s still there.” He pointed his finger under his right eye and added, “See? This long line? It was bigger and not as slim as now.”

“Less obvious than mine! I’ve had this thing for years and it won’t ever go away or shrink. The doctors said that it’s because I didn’t get it treated as soon as I should have. So I’m condemned to look like this for the rest of my life.” Zuko’s tone was sarcastic, as it always was when it came to his scar.

“Don’t say that,” admonished Ben. “You may never know. Maybe one day—”

“Yeah, yeah.” Zuko cut him off.

“Are you two quite finished? Or are you still debating who has the biggest scar?”

The two guys snorted at Iroh’s words. Their uncle had probably wondered why Ben hadn’t come back yet and so he had decided to see for himself what was going on.

Iroh’s eyes were crinkling with joy and pride when he added, “I’m glad you’re getting along. I’m still sorry for not having told you earlier, but I never got the chance. The moment wasn’t right.”

“Solo!”

The three men snapped their head towards Zuko’s boss, who was glaring at his employee, clearly displeased. Coldly, he told Zuko not to bother the customer and to get back to work. Zuko bit back whatever he wanted to reply, and just nodded, only to roll his eyes when his boss got out of sight.

“So,” said Ben, the corners of his mouth tilted upward, “see you tomorrow? So we can get to know each other more.” He turned to uncle Iroh and added, “What about you, uncle?”

“Sure! I promised Zuko that I would stay over for the entire weekend. Tomorrow, however, I will leave. Before noon.”

Zuko smiled and Ben grinned. “Great! Tomorrow morning we’ll have breakfast in a tea shop. How do you like it, uncle?”

Iroh didn’t bother to reply, he just started to laugh, delighted at his nephew.

“Where is it?” Asked Zuko.

“Oh, don’t worry, I’ll come pick you up. There’s so much snow… to be honest, I hope it disappears it all tonight.”

“Me too, I hate it,” said Zuko, pleased that his cousin shared his hatred for something everyone else seemed to love.

“My dear boys, you must learn to appreciate whatever nature gifts you,” chided Iroh.

The two cousins looked at each other and said, at the same time, “Yes, uncle. All right. We know it.”

“Good boys.”

*

Dameron came up behind Ben and gripped his shoulder. “Are you quite finished? We still have work to do.”

“Yeah, sorry. I completely forgot about it,” said Ben , apologetically. “By the way, he’s my cousin, Zuko. Zuko, he’s Poe, my colleague. Bad people,” Ben added, lowering his voice. Poe pretended to be offended but offered his hand to Zuko, who shook it, and smiled. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Poe then turned to Ben and urged him, they really needed to go.

“Let’s go back upstairs,” conceded Ben.

“Actually… it’s late now and I have to go to my mother’s. But I may or may not have eaten your breakfast, _oops._ ”

“ _What?”_

“I was hungry and you left me alone with all those goods… what’s a man supposed to do? Don’t worry I’ll give you the money later at work.”

“All right,” said Ben, giving him the eye.

“Anyway, apparently the line’s working again,” said Poe. “We can work at my place.”

“Great. I can’t wait to see Finn,” said Ben, sarcasm dripping from every syllable.

“Come on! He’s a good guy.”

“Yes, I know. _But_ he’s always so touchy with other people’s girlfriends.”

Iroh and Zuko laughed at Ben’s furrowed brows, but Poe happily ignored all of it and simply grinned. “I really must go now. I’ll call you later. Bye, Solo!”

The three other men saluted him and Ben said, “I must go, too. This meeting was… _refreshing,_ to say the least.” He wore the jacket Poe had kindly brought him from upstairs and waved his hand at his uncle and _new_ cousin, watching them as he went away, as if they could disappear if he averted his eyes.

It was freezing outside, But Ben barely felt the cold. He felt a strange warmness in his chest. A cousin. _A cousin so similar to him_ … such a way to make this day better! He couldn’t have ever dreamed it.  
He was walking to his car when he took out his phone to dial a number that he knew by heart.

“Rey!”

“Ben!” exclaimed Rey, matching her boyfriend’s cheerful tone.

“You can’t imagine what just happened!” Small flakes of pure white snow fell on and around Ben, almost as if they wanted to _hug_ him, to hold him, while he told everything to Rey, while Christmas was getting closer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much!  
> See you next time!
> 
> Love y'all!💞

**Author's Note:**

> I am also on Twitter and Tumblr if you wanna come say hello!
> 
> Twitter: @/ whatpistachio  
> Tumblr: whatpistachio


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